Today, I had an early breakfast with Urban (from Sweden, owner of the hotel) ... juice, fruit, an omelette, coffee, tomatoes, cucumbers ... packed the motorcycle and headed out to the catch the flaky ferry.
Beautiful morning, beautiful ride to the port, not very crowded, ferry had arrived to the port from across the river and was unloading ... ready to board and then ... a big truck was stuck inside the ferry and was unable to drive off ... the steering column shaft broke ... they tried everything ... they even flipped the ferry 180 degrees to see if it could be pulled from the other side to no avail ... this ferry was done for the day for now so we had to wait for the other one.
The second ferry arrived ... bigger, more modern, faster apparently ... interestingly, it was named Kunta Kinte which made me look up his story. It definitely shifts mental perspectives when you realize you are standing where he was from and where it all started.
As always, it was mad dash to get on the boat ... people, carts, cars, trucks ... all at once. Finally we got under way 2 hours after the original try.
Once on the other side, headed to the boarder which was about 50 kms away ... to my surprise, it was relatively empty ... and it all went smoothly on both sides for a change ... some of the officials even came out to say hello and welcome back ... very nice ... and no money exchanged with officials this time on either side.
The ride to Dakar took me again through the Saloum Delta ... interesting how the same road looks so different from the opposite direction ... then the usual crazy towns where you have to dodge everything under sun like video games ... and, finally, the smooth 6-lane highway all the way into Dakar.
Temperatures reached 98 degrees after the border and stayed there until it started dropping as Dakar got closer ... apparently, Dakar always has 75-80 degree weather because it is surrounded by the ocean on 3 sides.
At the hotel, it was time to get organized and to get the motorcycle ready for shipping tomorrow.
I ended up going to dinner with a YPO member in Dakar to an iconic seafood restaurant built on stilts over the ocean ,,, very cool. Great conversation. Our waiter wanted to buy my motorcycle and was on the phone trying to get the money. He may show up tomorrow morning with the cash.
The universe will decide if my trusted steed stays to live in Senegal or if it goes back home with me.
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